Solid Snake, the recurring protagonist of the Metal Gear franchise, is making his Fortnite debut as a bonus skin offered in the Chapter 5, Season 1 Battle Pass. But rather than being greeted with excitement, Kotaku reports the hunky assassin is a sore subject among players who noticed the absence of his once-thick booty.
Staring at a fictional character's rear-end sounds creepy. Actually, it is creepy. But to be fair, Snake's skin-tight body suit makes it fairly easy to spot the difference in his character design across games. Plus, we're not going to deny that he's ruggedly handsome — ass and all.
One fan took to X to express disapproval of the character's new look: "this is awful where is his ass? solid snake does not breathe thru his nose actually his lungs are located in his ass and if he has a small butt it means his lungs are being crushed and he is being asphyxiated and slowly dying. this is snake abuse."
this is awful where is his ass? solid snake does not breathe thru his nose actually his lungs are located in his ass and if he has a small butt it means his lungs are being crushed and he is being asphyxiated and slowly dying. this is snake abuse pic.twitter.com/tnNWTMOA4Q
— otacon (@otasuneku) December 3, 2023
"screaming [sic] and yelling and throwing up because they gave fortnite solid snake a flat ass which is deeply antithetical to everything hideo kojima stands for," a fellow player wrote. "disgusting. [sic]"
screaming and yelling and throwing up because they gave fortnite solid snake a flat ass which is deeply antithetical to everything hideo kojima stands for. disgusting. pic.twitter.com/pyUyDR3sM4
— gender ikari (@slayerfest1999) December 3, 2023
In a cruel twist of fate, Epic Games also released a skin for Family Guy's Peter Griffin in the newest Battle Pass — and he's absolutely ripped. It's almost like Snake got a reverse "BBL" (Brazilian Butt Lift), where all of the fat in his derrière was transferred to Peter's hulking biceps.
"Buff Peter Griffin, Solid Snake with no ass, Fortnite should NOT be allowed to cook right now," a dissatisfied player posted on X.
Buff Peter Griffin, Solid Snake with no ass, Fortnite should NOT be allowed to cook right now.
— JC ➡️ @supernintendo.bsky.social (@Supernintendo) December 4, 2023
Other Fortnite players have theorized similarly crude ways in which Solid Snake's ass was removed. One X user posted a cartoon drawing that depicts the character getting his butt cheeks sanded off while strapped to a table.
solid snake https://t.co/izKAWuz1F0 pic.twitter.com/5AJYgwmLr4
— Mr. Ryan. (@M1STERRYAN) December 4, 2023
But this isn't the first time Snake's volumptuous rump has been nerfed by game devs. When Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was released in 2018, players were equally quick to point out the character's newfound pancake-ass.
"They already nerfed snake," a user posted on Twitter at the time, along with an up-close comparison of Snake's backside between the Wii and the Nintendo Switch versions of the popular fighting game.
they already nerfed snake
— Iron Pineapple (@IronPineapple_) June 13, 2018
smh pic.twitter.com/khKUpEM8Np
More recently, another user posted an updated visual of the character's gradual ass-flattening process with a caption that reads: "we have to get solid snake out of the multiverse. if he shows up in another game his ass is gonna be fully concave. every time he meets ryu from street fighter he has less cake."
we have to get solid snake out of the multiverse. if he shows up in another game his ass is gonna be fully concave. every time he meets ryu from street fighter he has less cake. pic.twitter.com/Lr5SxRnPs1
— Topher Florence (@topherflorence) December 3, 2023
Several other in-game skins have also had their asses flattened by Epic Games, including Omni-Man, Captain America and Doomguy, according to Kotaku. It seems like they just can't handle the booty.
According to GameRant, the sans-booty version of Solid Snake can be unlocked by players who have completed the relevant challenges on Jan. 23 — 51 days from the start of this season's Battle Pass.
Katie Reul is a freelance writer at IGN
